


Under the Misty Sky

by Burgie



Category: Star Stable Online
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-07
Updated: 2018-06-07
Packaged: 2019-05-19 07:41:47
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,178
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14869556
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Burgie/pseuds/Burgie
Summary: Ariana finally confesses her feelings to Rania. Ariana belongs to inappropriatestarstable on tumblr.





	Under the Misty Sky

Ariana was usually a very confident girl. She could strut up to someone, flirt with them, talk to them, make them be the shy, blushing ones. But right now, Ariana felt like a shy, blushing schoolgirl. And, though she had played that role several times with some clients, she’d never expected to actually feel like one. But her cheeks were heated and her mouth was dry and her palms were sweaty. Her knees, completing the picture, were also weak, and her heart seemed to be in her throat. Beside where she nervously stood by the campfire, Lionhunter lifted his head from where he’d been grazing. According to him, grass always tasted sweeter when it was from an area that he’d never been in before. He’d certainly been eating enough of it.

“Well?” said Lion. “You’re alone now. Alonso and Violet went home a while ago because Alonso had a girl to get back to and Violet had an injured patient to get back to. Keema went too after she finally got the hint that Rania just isn’t into her. You two are up here all alone, you could do whatever you want.” Ariana glared at him, using her bond with him to speak using her mind.

“You make me sound like some kind of predator,” said Ariana, shooting him a glare. Lion snorted and returned to grazing.

“I’m just saying, now is the perfect time to confess,” said Lion. Ariana took a deep breath, knowing that he was right. The annoying ass. She hated when he was right. Before she could lose her nerve again, Ariana walked slowly towards Rania, fighting the urge to rub her arms or just outright bolt. Even if Lion was adamant that she stay here, Ariana would leave without him.

“It’s breathtaking out here, isn’t it?” said Rania, clearly having heard Ariana’s footsteps arriving beside her. Ariana marvelled at how Rania was able to tell people apart just by their footfalls. The loving smile that she gave Ariana sent butterflies racing through Ariana’s stomach, and she knew that Rania knew exactly what she was doing.

“Yeah, it is,” said Ariana, glad that her voice didn’t shake. She wondered if Rania could smell her fear. She probably could. Or she could at least hear the minute trembles that were shaking Ariana’s body. Even when she’d first started being a whore, Ariana hadn’t been this nervous. But her past was one of the major reasons for her nerves.

“Come on, now is the perfect time to use that line,” said Lion. Ariana wondered if Rania would notice if she kicked a small stone in Lion’s direction. She probably would.

“I used to come out here all the time before this place got all blocked off and overgrown, just Dellingr and me,” said Rania. “I loved it up here, all quiet with no one else around. I always dreamed of bringing a special someone here one day, if I ever got a special someone. Maybe mama and Dr Eiren would like to come out here.”

“She’s talking about romance,” said Lion. If he were any closer, Ariana knew that Lion would be nudging her physically rather than just mentally and verbally.

“I can see why,” said Ariana. “This seems like the perfect place to go to just get away from it all.” She felt suddenly sick, which was definitely not the right reaction. If she liked Rania so much, why couldn’t she just say it? Why did she clam up like this, why was it so hard to just say the words? She knew that Rania would reject her, why should she like her? But a part of her was even more terrified at what would happen if Rania accepted and even returned her feelings. What would Sigry say? She’d probably at least heard of Ariana’s exploits, though Rania somehow hadn’t.

“Are you okay?” asked Rania, turning her body towards Ariana. “Your breathing sounds weird. Are you sick? Maybe you should step back away from the fence.”

“That’s a good idea,” said Ariana, stepping away. “Maybe I should just go home, get some rest.”

“Ariana, I will stand on your foot if you try to leave,” said Lion. Ariana trembled, her heart kicking up into another gear as Rania took her hand and led her to sit down on a log around the firepit.

“Did you bring some water with you? I know Keema must’ve worked you hard, I’ve heard about her reputation,” said Rania with a laugh. Ariana gave a shaky laugh of her own.

“Have you heard about mine?” asked Ariana before she could stop herself.

“No,” said Rania, giving a sharp whistle so that Dellingr trotted over and placed himself so that Rania could reach into her saddlebag. She pulled out a bottle of water, giving it to Ariana. Ariana took a sip, her heart still pounding. She had been thirsty, she discovered as she drained the bottle. Or maybe she was just wishing for something stronger.

“It’s not a good one,” said Ariana. “So I’m glad you haven’t heard. But I’m just nervous as hell because I really like you and I’m just so scared that you’re not going to like me back once you find out what I do. Or what I used to do.” She’d stopped doing it after she’d met Rania, feeling too guilty to continue. And worried that she might accidentally say the wrong name or think about her or…

“I really like you too,” said Rania, surprising Ariana so much that she almost crushed the bottle she was holding. And she would have, if it were a bottle of Go! Water!. But it was a water bottle, the kind that most people carried around with them to stay hydrated.

“Y-you do?” asked Ariana, her body shaking more violently now. Rania took her hands, smiling sightlessly at her.

“Yeah,” said Rania. “Couldn’t you tell?”

“No,” said Ariana, dipping her head with a blush. “I thought you were just being nice and dammit, I never thought I’d be the blind gay.” Rania laughed, the sound that never failed to make Ariana’s heart flutter.

“Hey, I’m supposed to be the blind one here,” Rania teased. “I know that a lot of people have trouble confessing, I just wasn’t sure if you liked me too so that’s why I never said anything. But don’t worry, it took mama ages to confess to Dr Eiren. I almost had to set up a picnic or a date for them.”

“Maybe we should do that anyway,” said Ariana, glad for the distraction. “It’ll be sweet, maybe next year for Valentine’s Day.” Rania gave her a knowing smile. Dammit. Ariana knew that her voice had a nervous quaver in it.

“Whenever mama is really nervous about something, I tell her to talk to me or her horse about it,” said Rania. “It almost always helps. Of course, now she’s got Dr Eiren to calm her down.”

“They were getting us out of the house that evening, weren’t they?” said Ariana.

“Why do you think I suggested the berries?” said Rania with a laugh. “I may be blind but I’m not stupid.”

“And you wanted to spend some more time with me?” asked Ariana, shyly looking up at the other girl. Not that Rania could see, but her voice would be clearer if Ariana was looking at her.

“Mm-hm,” Rania hummed affirmatively, nodding.

“Yes, because all friends just grab their friend’s hands and smell the ginger on their fingers,” said Lion.

“Shut up,” said Ariana, blushing at the memory. When Rania had grabbed her hands and pressed her fingers to her nose, sniffing them deeply. That had certainly almost given her a heart attack. And then Rania had wrapped her arms around Ariana as they’d ridden to Valedale and just… god, talk about blind.

“So tell me what’s bothering you,” said Rania, bringing Ariana out of her thoughts quite effectively.

“Um. Nothing,” said Ariana, the lie coming too easily to lips numb from nerves.

“Come on,” said Rania, getting comfortable on the log beside her. She leaned against Ariana, her warmth making up for the lack of a fire. “Mama could tell you, I always manage to get people to open up. It’s a gift.”

“Your mama probably knows what I do,” said Ariana. “Or she’s at least heard of me. I’m quite famous around Jorvik, but not… not for the reasons you might think.” She licked her dry lips. “I help people in more… intimate ways. I help them get off.”

“So?” said Rania. “That’s still helping people.”

“But you don’t get it,” said Ariana, wanting to pull away but unable to. “I was a whore, I had sex with people for money and did a lot of things that I’m not proud of. I’m too good for you, you’re too pure for someone like me.”

“Hey, I’m not as innocent as you might think,” said Rania. “Sometimes I listen in on other people’s conversations. They see the cane and for some reason they think I’m deaf. Or maybe deaf and blind. Either way, I’m glad for it.”

“But that’s still so innocent,” said Ariana. “That’s not selling yourself for money. I’m not a virgin, I’m the furthest thing from one, I’ve been used too much to be any good.”

“Hey,” said Rania softly. “Just because you’ve done those things, that doesn’t make you a bad person. A lot of people like sex, and everyone needs money. It’s by far not the worst thing I’ve seen people do for money.”

“You’re probably the only one who thinks so,” said Ariana.

“You might be surprised,” said Rania. “But you don’t need to tell my mama about it if it makes you nervous. She doesn’t have to find out.”

“I’m kind of scared she’ll kill me for tainting her daughter,” said Ariana.

“I don’t blame you,” said Rania. “My mama can be a bit of a mama bear or mama panther sometimes when it comes to me. I guess that’s left over from raising me on her own.”

“But we’re probably getting way too ahead of ourselves here,” said Ariana. “We haven’t even kissed yet.”

“That can be remedied,” said Rania with a smile. Ariana’s heart pounded as Rania leaned in and cupped her face, finding Ariana’s lips with fingers that tasted of berries, and suddenly, she could taste berries and pine and fresh spring water. She was so shocked that she didn’t even return the kiss, too busy trying to process what had just happened. Rania giggled while Lion nickered his amusement.

“Holy crap,” said Ariana, her mind whirling. Rania grinned.

“Looking at you now, it’s hard to believe that you could be what you just said you were,” said Rania.

“I know,” said Ariana, her cheeks still flaming. “It’s kind of stupid, isn’t it?” Rania’s hand in hers felt so warm, so right.

“No,” said Rania. “Being nervous about something just shows that you care about it. And even the biggest, bravest person in the world can become a shy mess when they’re around someone they like. You saw Keema.”

“True,” said Ariana. “She made me jealous, so I guess that’s what pushed me to talk to you.”

“Are you sure it wasn’t your horse?” asked Rania. Ariana almost froze.

“What do you mean?” asked Ariana. “Horses don’t talk, right?”

“Blind, not deaf,” said Rania with a smile. Ariana’s mind raced as she tried to think of anytime she might have been talking to Lion out loud around Rania. “Hey, it’s okay, I talk to Dellingr the same way. Sometimes it confuses people but they just don’t have the same bond that we do with our horses.”

“If Dark Core or anyone ever tries to get their hands on your horse, I’ll kill them myself,” said Ariana. “I’ll take Antibelle and I’ll…” She clenched her hands into fists.

“Hey, I’ll fight for my boy too,” said Rania, putting her hand on Ariana’s hand. “You don’t need to protect me.”

“Oh, sorry,” said Ariana. “You probably hate being seen as weak.”

“Trust me, if it annoyed me, I’d let you know,” said Rania, giving Ariana a warm smile. “Dellingr will be safe with me, but thank you for caring.”

“Just let me know if something ever happens with him,” said Ariana.

“You’ll be the first to know,” said Rania.

“Okay, good,” said Ariana. Before she could lose her nerve, she continued. “Can I have another kiss? I never got to kiss you properly last time.” Rania’s only response was to lean in and plant her lips on Ariana’s once more. And this time, Ariana returned the kiss, leaning into it and letting Rania ground her. Normally, when she kissed someone, the kiss led somewhere else. But this time, the kiss didn’t have to lead anywhere. They had plenty of time for all of this to unfold, and for Ariana to be the uncertain one for once. This wasn’t anywhere near how Ariana had imagined this whole relationship unfolding, but somehow, she found that she didn’t mind.


End file.
